


Soulmates

by Live



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Flirting, Getting Together, M/M, Post-Civil War (Marvel), Soulmates, Steve Rogers Is Tony's Ex, it didn't end well, starkquillsecretsanta2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-23 17:38:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13195185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Live/pseuds/Live
Summary: ‘Soulmates meet amongst the rubble of New York’, were the words plastered across the news five years ago... A shame fairy tales aren't real...





	Soulmates

**Author's Note:**

> My gift for Hestia-sama on Tumblr for starkquillsecretsanta2017!!!!

‘Soulmates meet amongst the rubble of New York’, were the words plastered across the news five years ago. It was something light to focus on in amongst all the grit. It didn’t hurt that each article was accompanied by a photo of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. They were the saviours of the world and what a powerful start to their fairy tale love story.

The media had a field day when the two of them disagreed on the accords (there’s still articles detailing what a horrible person Tony is for abandoning his soulmate). Since his kidnapping and the beginning of Ironman Tony’s always paid the media more attention than they deserve. Tony’s known magazine articles were never meant to be taken seriously, he’s lived through interviewers complimenting his Father’s parenting skills and read pieces on how he’s slept with numerous people he didn’t even know. From his childhood alone he knows they fabricate stories without shame, but he knows from the kidnapping that you can grow to be too complacent on what you know vs what others know (he thought he knew his company wasn’t double dealing and look where that had landed him).

So, he had a complicated relationship with the media, but he knew what would be plastered all over headlines tomorrow if he didn’t continue moving. Thanos had wrecked the world, killed so many civilians and brought Captain America back to America. ‘Lovers reunited’, Tony imagines it saying and maybe that’s what Cap thinks is going to happen (what with him calling after him and all), but Tony doesn’t want to be near him, doesn’t want to face him, doesn’t want to be complacent in the media’s representation of them anymore.

So Tony takes a sharp right behind some uprooted cement and lands face first into a well-defined chest, a well-defined chest he has not had the chance to ogle before (and it was definitely ogle-able, what with the way the grey shirt seemed to stretch the adorable image, one that Tony’s omnipresent mind couldn’t place, across both pecks and the way a red leather jacket teasingly hid the rest of the delightfully huggable body from view). An arm (a strong and well defined arm that would probably feel wonderful to have wrapped around his waist or shoulders) comes up to steady him, it’s not needed (Tony is very good at adjusting his weight and balance), but it is appreciated nonetheless.

“Whoa!” The voice belonging to this body (that belongs in Greek myth) startled out. It’s the kind of voice that’s soothing enough to almost hide the playful lilt behind it. “If I knew Earth had such attractive people on it, I would have come back years ago.”

Tony finally looks up to place a face to the voice and body. It’s a nice face, all wide dimpled cheeks and limp curly hair covering the amusingly wiggling eyebrows. A seduction, Tony can only find adorable with how serious the man is taking it. 

“Down, Casanova.” He chides lightly, patting the man’s chest twice to enunciate each word (the chest is as firm as it looks and he wonders how it would feel to rest his head against it, would he finally get a good night’s sleep if he simply pressed his cheek to those magnificent muscles?).

“Casanova’s good,” The man grins. “But, when it comes to seduction I think I’m more of a Riker.”

Tony snorts.

“Surely, Kirk’s the more popular choice?” The man’s eyes light up. 

“But Riker has more style than Kirk, and much better moves,” one of those strong arms fall to rest on his hip, his hand barely grazing but Tony’s mind hyper focuses on it. “I can-”

“Tony!” And the worst interruption goes to Captain America.

Tony breathes deeply. Focuses of counting his breathes like he was told to at those therapy sessions Pepper made him go to. He can deal with Steve Rogers.

“Steve,” Tony turns around to face the man he’s had nightmares about. He instantly misses the warmth of the other man as the hand falls away from his waist. “I didn’t see you there.”

“Right...” Steve says, his eyes jumping between Tony and the man he’s with. It’s a subtle hint to have a moment alone with Tony, everyone knows their story at this point; it shouldn’t be hard for the man to understand. He doesn’t move from beside Tony. “Why were you running then?”

“I’m a busy guy, Steve,” Tony explains, as though Steve has no idea how busy he can get (and honestly Tony thinks even after living together for so long, Steve never really understood how much and how hard all of Tony’s Work is). 

“That doesn’t explain-”

“Sorry,” The man awkwardly injects himself into what was looking to be a horrible argument, he holds a hand out in front of Captain America. “I’m Peter Quill, most people call me Starlord or leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor sent me to look for Tony. See we kind of broke our ship in that fight against Thanos and urgently need help. So, I’m going to have to keep Tony busy I’m afraid.”

Steve isn’t even given a chance to shake the offered hand or process what he’s just been told before Peter Quill is wrapping a hand around Tony’s waist and directing him in the opposite direction of the rest of the ex-avengers. Tony is just as confused as Steve, he knew Thor was back (glad to have the big lug back… even if he brought his brother with him), but he knew this guy? And more importantly: a spaceship?

“So, I kind of got interrupted there,” Peter is saying. “And my big introduction was kind of messed up on Captain America back there, and you never actually got to introduce yourself, so I didn’t realise until Cap came along that you’re Tony Stark... wait you are Tony Stark, right?”

“That’s me,” Tony’s never heard anyone talk as much as him in one breath (well maybe Peter Parker, but that’s more nervous and excited babbling than anything else). 

“Great!” Peter Quill carries on. “Cause see Thor did actually suggest we find you to help fix the Milano. The Milano’s my spaceship by the way.”

“I’d be happy to help,” Tony confesses honestly, no room for snarky or witty comments when there’s a spaceship in trouble.

“Awesome! Also we should totally continue flirting, do you know how many references go over alien’s heads?”

———

The Guardians, Tony learns after working with them for a few weeks (he learns after a day really), are like one massive dysfunctional family, but they make it work. Groot is a tree going through a weird rebellious teen stage, Rocket mocks everyone especially those he likes, Mantis is too innocent (even with her terrifying powers) for this world, Drax is unintentionally hilarious (if not a little… adorably frustrating) and Gamora is an amazingly strong warrior. And there’s Peter who Tony can’t help, but find adorable and want to spend all his free time with (honestly he wants to spend all his free time with them and Bruce who is finally back and Rhodey and Pepper and maybe Parker, he kinda likes the kid).

“Gamora’s my soulmate,” Peter Quill confesses to him one day. “But, see, she’s from an alien race that doesn’t have soulmates, so she tells me that’s impossible.”

“That...” and Tony trails off, what are you meant to say to something like that. It’s not like Tony’s good at comforting.

“I know...” Quill says deflating. “It sucks, but at least she still wants to be friends.”

“Steve Rogers is mine,” Tony admits, like it’s a secret no one knows (everyone does).

“What’s that like? Having the ‘America dream’ as a soulmate,” Quill asks.

“It sucks,” Tony says as though it was a well-known fact (it’s not). “Cap, had another soulmate that he thought was dead, so when I come along he promises me everything, like you’d expect from the American sweetheart, but... we were always kind of out of sync, none of our promises held up and then turns out his other soulmate is alive, but he doesn’t tell me. Just goes on a wild goose chase for him and leaves me for him.”

Tony looks at Quill and gives him a smile. It’s a smile that makes Peter feel like he’s been stabbed in the heart (he runs a hand over the pain in his chest).

“It’s not even that he left me for his other soulmate or that he was sneaking off to find him that even bothers me. I’m used to being left behind, it’s that he couldn’t even tell me the truth when it was right in front of everyone.”

———

In their world finding your soulmate is kind of a complicated deal. A child is born with a word on their body. The word isn’t anything that would lead you to your soulmate or make it obvious who they are. The word is a nickname, a nickname that you would give your soulmate.

To find your soulmate you’d have to first meet them, get to know them, wait until you naturally call them by the nickname on your arm and somehow find the courage to tell them the name you call them is on your arm. Many fail to find their soulmate due to waiting too long or drowning in the doubts of if you really want to call this person that nickname or if you’re just lonely.

Soulmates were complicated (but valued).

———

“So…” Peter asks one day when Rocket and Tony are working on the Milano (Peter, both of them for that matter, the Spider-Man Peter had been too excited for Tony to not to show the spaceship to apparently). “What’s your soulmate mark say?”

“It’s gotta be ‘Cap’, right?” The other littler Peter says, in an excited gasp. Quill kind of enjoys Parker’s enthusiasm (if he could only inspire that enthusiasm towards himself; that would be a great ego boost).

“Almost,” Tony answers, holding his hand out for Quill to drop a wrench into it.

“What do you mean almost? What else could it say?” And Parker is genuinely confused.

“Yeah, c’mon Tony, tell us,” Quill purposefully whines like a three year old.

“I don’t get all this fuss over words!” Rocket interrupts before Tony can even think of a response. “Do you Terrans really care about this one word so much?!”

“Well, it’s really romantic and it’s great to know you have someone you’re destined for!” Parker chirps in, all happy and innocent.

Rocket responds with his over exaggerated laugh. Parker awkwardly looks around at everyone.

“Did I say something weird?” He asks.

“No, Rocket’s just an asshole,” Quill nudges Rocket with his boot, he’s scratched in return.

“What is so romantic about a word? What if the word on your arm was dumbass or something, what’s romantic about that?!” Rocket continues his laughter.

“The word on your arm wouldn’t be dumbass.” Quill rolls his eyes. “Who’d give someone the nickname dumbass?”

“It’s what I call you,” Rocket points out with a grin, always happy to win an argument.

“You’re not my soulmate,” Quill crosses his arm; smug.

“I’m glad you’re not!” Rocket gives Quill the finger before turning back to Parker. “Look all I’m saying is, what if you’re in the best relationship you’ll ever have and you never call them that word cause you don’t think it’ll suit them and then you meet someone whose completely horrible to you, but the nickname sticks. It’s not smart to leave the first person for your so called soulmate.”

“But, it doesn’t happen like that! Why would you ever think to call someone who’s bad for you by the name on your arm?” Parker asks.

Tony rolls out from under the Milano, stealing Rocket’s words before he can speak them (definitely stealing Quill’s with how he can’t seem to focus on anything but the oil spilt across his face, he kind of wants to wipe them off, but Tony’s already reaching for a rag to do it himself). 

“Sometimes a person can change or you don’t know everything about a person,” Tony explains to Parker, he gives the kid a smile. It’s the kind of smile that’s slowly becoming Quill’s favourite, the kind that reminds him of a supernova exploding, so beautiful from a distance but up close it was a destructive force (for Quill’s poor heart). “You’ll figure it out when the times right, kid.”

———

Yondu had told Peter to never let anyone see his soulmate mark. Told him to never take his jacket off. Told him if someone found out what they meant to Terrans he could easily be taken advantage of, especially with a word like his.

The Guardians have seen it, didn’t really have a choice on that one really, they had been thrown into prison together and he wasn’t allowed his jacket in there, but he would have shown them eventually.

Probably.

The first person he shows willingly since Yondu’s warning is Tony. The word is sprawled across his arm in large unavoidable letters. The ink a dark black that sinks deep into his skin.

It reads: beautiful. 

“Gamora actually lets you call her that?” Tony had asked, eyebrow raised.

“God no,” Peter snorts, a completely unattractive sound, but Tony’s grinning. “She punched me in the dick and I’ve only be left to think it.”

Tony laughs and Peter thinks he’s finally figured it out. It only took 3 to 4 decades.

———

There would be a day when Tony wouldn’t feel self-conscious to show Peter his soulmate mark. Not only was he worried the proof that Captain America was his soulmate would affect their relationship somehow, but his mark was blemished by the scar across his chest.

Growing up his Mother has told him how sweet it was that his mark appeared on his chest. As though his words were trying to stay as close to his heart as possible. His Father was just happy they were easy to cover, never particularly fond of the word that had manifested on his child.

But, one day when he shows Quill, Peter will see the word ‘Cap’ and the large circular scar that used to house the arc reactor. His fingers will lightly trace the words, carefully trace the wound, etching every detail into his mind.

“It used to say Captain,” Tony would confided. “The arc reactor shortened it to Cap.”

“Beautiful,” Peter would say.

———

The process for the Milano is coming along as nicely as it can on Earth. Rocket grumbles about it only taking a day when they crash landed on an abandoned planet and Gamora reminds him the ship wasn’t nearly as damaged as then (and quietly adds when Peter can’t hear that Earth really is lacking materials for space flight, she’s impressed Tony’s even been able to get them materials that kind of work). All the work for the Milano has been happening in Stark protected areas, where the Guardians are allowed to rest up at their own leisure, it’s a shame then that courtesy had been passed on to everyone who helped fight Thanos.

———

“Look, can I just talk to Tony?” Steve asks a small woman with fiery hair, standing next to her is a man with prosthetics around his legs. Tony had happily told Quill about these two so he knows them well enough.

“Mr. Stark is in a meeting right now,” Pepper states. The glare that accompanies the words is so deadly: they should have just let her stare Thanos down herself.

“So he’s still being a coward,” a blond with a bow snorts in the background.

“Barton,” Rhodey actually growls. “Don’t.”

Quill sneaks across the room trying to avoid drawing any of their attention yet. This didn’t look like it would end well (not that any of these arguments ever did). When he’s safely next to Gamora, who he knows can beat any of these guys up (hey where Quill doesn’t think Tony’s a coward like this Barton fellow is saying, he’s more than happy to be one himself) does he risk grabbing anyone’s attention.

“What’s going on?” He asks Gamora and none of the other others in the room gain a second head and try killing him (they don’t even look away from whoever they’re trying to stare down actually).

“The stupid one with a shield is trying to meet up with Stark again,” she explains breezily.

“I kinda understood that Gamora,” Quill rolled his eyes, hanging with Tony (who was so EASY to talk to) was reminding him just how odd conversations with the Guardians were (not that he’d trade them for anything). 

“Then I don’t know what else you need to know,” Gamora turns to him. “What are you doing here? It’s been a while since I’ve seen you not pining after Stark.”

Quill splutters. “I’m not pining.” Gamora gives him a look. “OK, so there’s a little bit a pining, that doesn’t mean-”

“Oi, Quill,” Rhodey calls him (finally noticing him). There’s a grin across his face and yay now everyone’s looking at him (or will be when Rhodey finishes his sentence). “Tony’s been waiting for you! Being late for a date hasn’t been fashionable in decades!”

“Pining,” Gamora grins at him and shoves him forward.

And Quill is a coward, but he knows when to take an opportunity for something he wants. So with everyone’s eyes on him, he turns around to walk backwards so he can maintain eye contact with Gamora.

“A whole lot more than pining,” he announces in a voice a little louder than needed (he can’t contain his grin as he says it).

———

Because, real life’s not a fairy tale that ends once you’ve admitted your feeling to the world, Quill has to deal with a lot of probing questions. He’s fine with Tony’s friends making sure that he’s not an asshole (well Quill is pretty sure he is an asshole, but he’s never been a dick to Tony so that probably counts for something… hopefully). But, it’s the digs at Tony that he can’t deal with, having people come up to him and warn him that Tony is horrible or taken as though finding your soulmate is the end of your romantic life, is a pain. But, as Quill happily admits he’s an asshole, so he sends away anybody trying to insult Tony with crass words.

“Alright, alright,” Barton says after failing to convince him one time (the last time Quill made sure of). “But, it’s your funeral.”

The only death Quill can see Tony committing against him is accidental suffocation while they hold each other close while cuddling. Quill always thought he’d go in a brutal and horrible way, so he’s definitely not complaining. Death by hug sounds much more pleasant.

———

And of course Captain America eventually corners Tony, because of course he does. What Captain America wants, Captain America gets.

“Tony,” he says as he finds his soulmate holding hands with Peter Quill. The two of them had been walking around at night, Quill talking about space, when Steve happened upon them on his jog.

“Really Cap?” Quill intones. “Stalking outside of office hours now?”

“I’m not. I-”

“What is it Steve?” And that’s the first time Tony’s actually met his eye since he’s come back. It’s the first time Steve actually noticed Tony had been avoiding eye contact.

“I... I just wanted to thank you for giving back my shield and-”

“I didn’t,” Tony cuts him off. Silence spreads after that, Steve is used to Tony’s long (confusing) explanations, so it drags on a little longer than comfortable.

“What?” He asks, truly confused. He has the Captain America shield back so surely-

“If there was a choice I’d never have given it to you. I’d rather if was in a museum or collecting dust somewhere, but I’m not selfish enough to let the world burn for that desire,” Tony explains.

“I-”

“Steve, the world might need Captain America. But I don’t,” he smiles up at Quill. “Not anymore.”

“But-”

“Give is up Cap,” Quill cuts in. “Being someone’s soulmate doesn’t mean you’re entitled to them!”

“I’m not being entitled. I’m-”

“Being an asshole,” Quill finishes for him before tugging Tony away. “Anyway, as I was saying so there’s this planet where-”

———

It shouldn’t have come to anyone’s surprise that when it was time for the Guardians to leave that Tony was going with them. It shouldn’t have, but some people just enjoyed being contrary. Tony loved Earth, he really did, but really he’d be a lot more help for Earth out in space, where he wasn’t instantly doubted for things like alien invasions. And well... Peter and he were really hitting it off and where Peter assured him it was more than possible to have a long distance relationship if Tony stayed on Earth, Tony didn’t want that. Those that truly cared about him got that.

So, he left with Quill, a peaceful smile gracing his face for once and he loved without abandon.

And if one day in the not too distance future Tony teasingly called Peter Captain when Quill was taking charge. And if Peter whispered the words beautiful into Tony’s ear every night until they were a part of Tony’s very being. Well... no one needed to let the media know they right. Tony had met his soulmate in rubble of New York, just not the one they initially thought.

**Author's Note:**

> I was so worried this wasn't any good, so I hope I got everything right and that you like it Hestia-sama (and any of you beautiful people who stumble across this)!!!!! <3


End file.
